ROCKAWAY — Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp announces that the Morris County Grand Jury has returned an Indictment against Bhavuk Uppal, 23, with a last known address in Mountain Lakes, charging him with various crimes related to the July 11, 2015 motor vehicle crash that left three dead and two injured.
During the early morning hours of July 11, 2015, a motor vehicle crash occurred involving multiple vehicles on Route 80 westbound in Rockaway Township. Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that Defendant crashed his motor vehicle into the rear of one vehicle, a Kia, which then caused that vehicle to collide with the vehicle in front of it, a Jeep. Uppal was driving a 2014 Cadillac Escalade.
The crash resulted in the death of the three occupants in the first vehicle struck, a Kia, and injuries to the two occupants in the second vehicle, a Jeep. It is alleged that Defendant operated his vehicle recklessly, and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. It is also alleged that at the time of this incident, Defendant was operating a vehicle recklessly, in part, by speeding, driving while having a suspended license, and being under the influence of alcohol and narcotics.
The impact of the collision sent the 2004 Kia Sedan crashing into a Jeep located in front of it. Flames consumed the Kia, killing Briana Mae Anderson, 21; her fiance, Edward Russell Hitt, 24, and their 18-month-old daughter, Charlotte Reagan Hitt, all of Jeffersontown, Kentucky. Anderson was 18 weeks’ pregnant at the time of the crash, a fact which her family only discovered via news reports of her death.
The occupants of the Jeep were treated for minor injuries.
Uppal’s prior criminal history includes six arrests since 2009 on charges ranging from theft to failing to turn over a controlled dangerous substance to law enforcement, Troiano said.
On May 19, 2016, the Morris County Grand Jury returned an Indictment formally charging Defendant with three (3) counts of Aggravated Manslaughter, crimes of the first degree, three (3) counts of Death by Auto, crimes of the second degree, three (3) counts of Death Caused While Driving with a Suspended License, crimes of the third degree, two (2) counts of Assault by Auto, crimes of the fourth degree, and two (2) counts of Unlawful Taking of Means of Conveyance, crimes of the third and fourth degree. Defendant was previously charged by way of a summons-complaint with Possession of Hypodermic Needle, a disorderly persons offense, which is also related to this incident.
Defendant remains in the custody at the Morris County Correctional Facility, with a bail set at $750,000 cash, bond or property.
Members of the New Jersey State Police and Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit contributed to this ongoing investigation and prosecution.
If anyone has any information related to this investigation, they are encouraged to call the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 285-6200.
The family of Anderson has retained an attorney to file a lawsuit against the driver believed to be responsible for the crash. While the attorney does not plan to file a lawsuit immediately, he described his intentions to protect the family’s interests throughout the criminal investigation, and to ensure that evidence of Uppal’s responsibility remains protected until a civil trial can move forward. The attorney will also be investigating other possible causes of the accident and deaths, including whether or not Uppal was served an excess of alcohol before driving that night, such that the bar might be responsible in part for the deaths, or if the Kia was defective in some way, leading to the vehicle becoming engulfed in flames in an accident that may otherwise have been survivable.
Editors Note: Despite this Indictment, the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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